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The Payday Gang
In the PAYDAY series, the Payday Gang, also known as the Payday Clowns, is the team of masked, player-controlled criminals. Background In both games of the PAYDAY series, the player controls a four-man team of experienced criminals of various backgrounds to complete contracts or heists given through their handler Bain. As the storyline progresses, new heisters sought to join the crew and/or are inducted by one of the four original members. As of PAYDAY 2, the whole gang consists of 12 characters, each with their own backstory, masks, signature sets of perks and weaponry. In the original storyline, the heisters did not have a specific name to use to identify the group, though they were dubbed the "Payday gang" by the player community and soon after, the name stuck and became an official part of the PAYDAY canon. ''PAYDAY: The Heist In PAYDAY: The Heist, players assume the role of four clown-masked heisters who refers to themselves using aliases. 'Dallas' '''Dallas', a.k.a. Nathan Steele, is an American 42-year-old chain smoking Mastermind. He wears the American flag mask during heists, and is often regarded as the leader of the crew. Gameplay-wise, Dallas appears as the Assault class in PAYDAY: The Heist, and a Mastermind/'Crew Chief' in PAYDAY 2. 'Chains' Chains, a.k.a. Nicolas, is an American 35-year-old ex-military Enforcer. He wears a white, blue, and pink clown mask during heists. Gameplay-wise, Chains appears as the Support class in PAYDAY: The Heist, and an Enforcer/'Muscle' in PAYDAY 2. 'Hoxton' Hoxton, '''a.k.a. '''Jim Hoxworth, is a British 30-year-old Fugitive and Sharpshooter. He wears a pink and white clown mask during heists. Gameplay-wise, Hoxton appears as the Sharpshooter class in PAYDAY: The Heist, and a Fugitive/'Crook' in PAYDAY 2. 'Wolf' Wolf a.k.a. (Name/Alias unknown), is a Swedish 32-year-old psychotic Technician. He wears a white and red demon-like mask during heists. Gameplay-wise, Wolf appears as the Technician class in both games, and as an Armorer in PAYDAY 2. ''PAYDAY 2 After the success of the old crew and subsequent arrest of Hoxton in 2012, various other criminals have also joined the crime group. The crew's headquarters is now situated in Washington D.C, and their criminal activities are controlled via Crime.net. The entire crew now consists of 12 members with the return of Hoxton and introduction of the original members' acquaintances. 'Houston' Houston (originally '''Hoxton') is a 31-year-old American Ghost, and younger brother of Dallas. Up until the release of Hoxton Breakout, had taken on the mantle of Hoxton, assuming his alias and mask. After the successful breakout, the name reverted back to the original Hoxton, while the mask remained in Houston's hands. Gameplay-wise, Houston appears as the Ghost/Rogue 'in PAYDAY 2. 'John Wick John Wick is an American Hitman in his 40s and a playable character introduced in Update 40, the eponymous character from the 2014 action movie John Wick. Wick is inducted into the crew by his long-time military friend Chains. His signature weapons are the Chimano Compact and Ursa Tanto Knife. Gameplay-wise, John Wick appears as the Hitman class in PAYDAY 2. 'Clover' Clover is an Irish 27-year-old Burglar and former apprentice of Hoxton. Released as part of her eponymous character expansion, Clover is the first playable female character in the series. Her signature weapons are the Clover's Shillelagh and Queen’s Wrath rifle. Gameplay-wise, Clover appears as the Burglar class in PAYDAY 2. 'Dragan' Dragan, full alias Dragan Zubović, is a 46-year-old Croatian Infiltrator, former Interpol agent, and heister working for The Butcher. Like Clover, He was released in his eponymous DLC on January 22nd, 2015 along with his signature weapons, the Lion's Roar assault rifle and his own meat cleaver. Gameplay-wise, Dragan appears as the Infiltrator class in PAYDAY 2. 'Jacket' Jacket, also known by the name of his signature mask Richard, is a mysterious and violent criminal American Sociopath originating from Miami. This is the ninth character made available to the community. He was released alongside Hotline Miami 2 on March 10, 2015, along with his signature weapons, the Jacket's Piece and Carpenter's Delight. The Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number Deluxe Edition is required to play as him. Gameplay-wise, Jacket appears as the Sociopath class in PAYDAY 2. 'Bonnie' Bonnie is a Scottish 43-year-old Gambler and the ninth announced character for PAYDAY 2 and the tenth to be released. Bonnie is the second female heister added to the game, and the first free one. Bonnie was unlocked in The Hype Train event on March 1, 2015 and was released March 15th during the Spring Break event. As a team asset, she played an important role in helping Hoxton discovering the identity of his traitor and get even. Bonnie was released along with her signature weapons, the Joceline O/U 12G and Rivertown Glen Bottle. Gameplay-wise, Bonnie appears as the Gambler class in PAYDAY 2. 'Sokol' Sokol is a Russian 25-year-old former Hockey Grinder and the eleventh addition to the gang. Currently the youngest member, Sokol made his contributions to the collective by designing and providing them with the Big Fucking Drill, to be used in the Golden Grin Casino heist. His signature weapons are the Valkyria and the Hockey Stick that he likely used during his time as an athlete. Gameplay-wise, Sokol appears as the Grinder class in PAYDAY 2. 'Jiro' Jiro is a Japanese 52-year-old Yakuza member and the twelfth announced character in PAYDAY 2. He's looking for his son Kento in America, having to contact Bain after the Bōsōzoku Yakuza clan betrayed him. He was released on his eponymous DLC Yakuza Character Pack on August 27th, 2015 along with his signature weapons, the Shinsakuto Katana and the Micro Uzi. Gameplay-wise, Jiro appears as the Yakuza class in PAYDAY 2. Sydney 'Sydney '''is an un-released Australian member and the thirteenth announced character in PAYDAY 2. At this time, not much is known about as she was only teased at PAYDAYcon 2015. She will be voiced by Georgia Van C. Preferred Character Players can prioritise which characters they prefer to play with, being able to choose up to four playable members of the Payday Gang in order of the player's preferences. If the first chosen character is unavailable (i.e. being used by another player), then the selection will default to the second chosen character, and so on. Obviously, a player can only choose a base-game heister unless the respective character pack is owned. Gallery Payday_2_Gang.png|The Payday Gang in the Alesso Heist teaser. Trivia *Hoxton is the first ever member of the crew to officially refer to the whole group as the "Payday gang", during the Breakout heist, though only in his NPC/contractor form and not an active character. Other members have since received updates to acknowledge the new moniker. **In a randomly played quote during assaults in both games, Dallas may say "We'll make 'em remember the day they fought the PAYDAY gang!" *The character of Hoxton was originally intended to be replaced by the now-separate Houston in ''PAYDAY 2, as both of his actors were unable to reprise their roles during the web series and game's production (Richard Blom ended his contract with Overkill in 2013 and Pete Gold had a scheduling conflict). Had the community not expressed their desire for his return, the Englishman would have been nixed and Dallas' brother would have assumed the role entirely. *Wolf is the only recurring original member of the gang to retain both his voice and actor. **As of 2015, Wolf's face and voice actor Ulf Andersson has left OVERKILL Software and gave his share of Starbreeze to his brother Bo. He will continue to provide voice acting for Wolf for the next 2 years but it is unknown what will become of Wolf afterward. *As the Payday series was inspired largely by the 1995 crime film Heat, the four original heisters each resembled a member of the gang from the movie in terms of characteristics and temperament. **Dallas resembled Neil McCauley in the sense that both are portrayed as intelligent, calculating but also suave, if not noble masterminds of the team. **Chains is akin to Michael Cheritto in that both men are ex-military, are somewhat ill-tempered and easy to get angry. **Hoxton and Chris Shiherlis are both known for their calm and collected mannerism while under duress. **Wolf is like the gang's Trejo for always being optimistic and cheerful. ***Additionally, Wolf could also mirror Waingro, sharing the criminal's unhinged mentality and propensity for violence. *A majority of the new faces in PAYDAY 2 were inducted into the old crew by the original members. The only faces inducted into the crew by non-members are Dragan, Sokol, Jiro, and possibly Jacket. **John Wick was Chain's old friend and former comrade in the military. He joined the crew to pay off an unknown favor. **Houston is Dallas's younger brother, who were inducted to fill in Hoxton's place before the Englishman's breakout in late 2014. **Clover and Bonnie were former acquaintances of Hoxton. **It is possible that Jacket was introduced to the team by Wolf, as they both appeared in the teaser trailer for the Hotline Miami DLC. **Sokol and Jiro are the only members thus far to have been inducted by Bain, not counting the original four. *The term "clowns", is commonly used by law enforcers to name the PAYDAY Gang due to the heisters' fondness of stylized clown masks which they all canonically wear during missions. *Hoxton is the only member of the Gang to have been canonically arrested in a traditional sense since the beginning of the series, with the police custody mechanic notwithstanding. Although several others have also reportedly done time before being released to join the crew, their incarceration likely happened before PAYDAY: The Heist took place. *The Payday crew started off as ridiculously well-equipped thieves, but added heists have propelled them into international terrorists at best. If nothing else, the sheer number of police they've killed has easily qualified them all for the death penalty hundreds of times over. **Additionally, they have stolen nukes, working cold fusion engines, and committed countless acts of grand larceny and theft. Category:Characters (Payday 2)